Tech

TEDxArabia 2011

Art, Culture, Saudi, Tech, Women 5 Comments

I was invited by Big_Hass to attended TEDxArabia on Thursday October 6th 2011, and I am glad I attended, it was interesting to say the least. The Theme of the event was “Live Your Dream”.

Registration was a bit lost, cards were everywhere, and… they couldn’t find the one with my name on it (or my friend Hameed’s card)

I did miss the first part due to me being late, but I didn’t miss much I guess.

Some talks were great, some were boring, and when the rep of the “angel sponsor” (Nestle) started talking, she almost made me hate coffee.

My friend Hassan gave a nice talk about hip-hop and what it should represent (hint: it is not the garbage on mainstream media, it’s a little more like this, or this). My friend Aziz Hamza also gave a presentation about a new iphone/ipad application of hijazi proverbs his company developed.

Ahmad Almehairy, gave one of the most memorable talks of the evening, encouraging small business, and encouraging investors to invest in small businesses. After checking him out online, it turns out he is a VP of a “Private Wealth Management Office LMC invests in Venture Capital, Real Estate & Public Equities. Slogan: Investing for the prosperity of our nation” so basically it was a sales pitch… most of the talks were somewhat more or less sales pitches.

The Smile of Swords as she translated her name (Dr. Basma Alseyofi) was also a very energetic and motivating speaker who wrote a few books and serves as a consultant on many governmental projects.

The nice thing about the event was a live music performance by a group called AlFarabi, who performed their song “story of a king” their musical style was fusion, the song was in Arabic, you can check out a studio version here.

There is a new cartoon coming out about the companions of the prophet, the main hero of the cartoon is the companion Bilal, a freed African slave and the first caller of the athan. The interesting thing is that they used forensic art to find what Bilal and his wife,  and other companions looked like, which would be more authentic than seeing a light skinned actor with blackface playing the part as they usually do in films and series about the period.

I am also excited about a new art gallery which will take place in Jeddah in January 2012, I forgot the name, but not the date :)

All in all it was a good event, thanks to big Hass for inviting me, and thanks for the organizers of the event for making it all possible, it was way better than the videos I saw of last year’s event, and I know if it is done next year, it will be even better… and I hope I get an invitation to the event next year also… either that or I am giving a talk… the last guy on stage gave a talk because he updated a page on “the definition of genius” on Wikipedia.

There was also a moment of silence while standing up for the passing away of Steve Jobs, who without his vision, none of this would’ve probably been possible.

My Life in Instagram

Art, iPhone 8 Comments

I have to first admit that I got this idea from Samaher Tariq, she did this on her blog, and I thought it was a good idea :)

In the past few weeks, I haven’t been using my camera as much as I want, that is part in due to my newly found addiction of instagram, and the good quality pictures I can take using my iPhone, but also because now I can edit them anywhere I am.

Here are my favorite pictures that I captured in the past few weeks.

I saw this guy sitting after the friday prayer on a bench on Jeddah’s Corniche, I stopped the car, and hoped he wouldn’t move before I could take the picture I saw in my mind.

Ghadafi really made an impression on the world with his dar-dar zenga-zenga speach, there is even a zenga zenga burger now

My friends at RedSandAV invited me to a video shoot, I enjoyed the experience, thanks guys

Jeddah has a few mosques on the corniche, this is one of the small ones.

We went to Makkah, and as I was trying to get the kabaa and the clock tower in the same shot, a little girl decided to sit there, her parents were sitting next to us, so no, she was not lost. I tried to use the slowshutter app, but without a tripod, I could not leave the shutter open long enough to get things which were in motion to be blurry, and things which are stationary to be sharp.

Ice Cream at a newly opened “stickhouse” all sorbet, but some chocolate and some vanilla.

Many of the new supermarkets have a “spice market” area, this was one of them.

I finally got my self off the couch, and started running/jogging/walking again, this is where I run on Jeddah’s corniche, luckily no one was in the picture, because it is usually not this empty.

And of course, we have American franchises like almost any American city.

I hope you enjoyed this :)

Saudi Solar Energy

Saudi, Tech 0 Comment

I am extremely glad to read this piece of information, Saudi Arabia plans to be the Saudi Arabia of Solar Energy. Which says that Saudi Arabia will export energy to Europe

This means that solar would make up the other 80% of energy demands that the nuclear plants won’t make.

According to Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi “Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has the potential by 2020 to produce enough solar power to meet more than four times global demand for electricity”

More solar energy falls on the Earth each day than the total amount of energy the world consumed in the last 25 years, and there were plans to build solar arrays in the North African Sahara for Europe to use, but that requires a huge investment, and seeing how things are going there now… and who has the capital investment to actually carry it out, I am even happier to see Saudi invest the money this way.

I really think that this is really ambitious, 2020 is 9 years away… I hope it happens, I pray that it does.

Wait… Why then are we building nuclear plants for 20% of our projected demands when we would have power to export? To be better than the Joneses across the gulf? Or to keep some nuclear engineers and operators employed?

Saudi Websites Sold For Millions

Tech 0 Comment

Be Careful -2-

It is happening now, not in the future, that is why google itself is investing in the market, other companies are investing and buying websites, and that is just the beginning, it is forecasted to grow exponentially.

Remember a couple of months ago, when the ministry of information released a list to regulate online content? Well, it is clear now why they are doing it, no government/tax man will let you operate and make money without taking a cut. There is a 2.5% tax when selling land, there is the Islamic Zakah for merchants, there was never anything for online content.

Riyadh newspaper wrote that a few sites and forums have been acquired by a large venture capital, I personally know an engineer who has/is working in these sites, that quit his day job to continue working full-time on that site.

I also heard from a reliable source that another Saudi internet site was sold for 7 million Saudi Riyals recently.

As two things are certain, death and taxes (even in countries where there is no tax, you still get taxed somehow) you think they like not having a share of these deals? Not gonna happen.

Even google wants a piece of the Arabian sites pie, they set up an office in Dubai, and have been active in recruiting and helping and funding online projects, it’s big business now, and the bubble is yet to form.

That is why, bloggers do not need to register, no one wants to buy a blog, but have a site with a service, then it is a different story. Even sheiks now are talking about iPads.

iFatwa

Apple 0 Comment

That’s what I’m calling the fatwa of Sheikh Mohammad Al-Munjid about the halalniss of jailbreaking iProducts (iPhone, iPad).

This of course will not make waves (like the Mickey Mouse alleged fatwa).

If anything, it shows that Apple Inc is gaining ground and its market is expanding in Saudi. So Apple, if you do not want this to happen, come now, some people have been petitioning for months and years for an official Apple store in Saudi.

Now, can we have a real Apple store in Saudi Arabia with all the support that comes with it?

The Real Reason for the BlackBerry Shakedown

Tech 9 Comments

Men stand near BlackBerry phones on sale at a shopping mall in Riyadh August 5, 2010. The makers of the BlackBerry smartphone held last-ditch talks with Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to avert a threatened cut-off of a key service, while India took a tough line with the Canadian company. Research In Motion is facing mounting demands from governments around the world for access to its vaunted encryption system on national security grounds. REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS)

So, after I made the joke about the blackberry messenger (BBM) ban, I knew something was bigger than the initial story. The big picture is that RIM has been trying to get into the Chinese and Indian (the fastest-growing telecommunications market in the world) markets, the largest markets in the world. However, the data which is transmitted through those devices and which is a marketers and intelligence agencies dream data is encrypted (as it always is, but not for the user’s protection, it is encrypted for the company which owns it and has the power to do whatever it wants with it) and there lies the whole issue. Any company with so much data on users, is supposed to oblige to the country which it operates in. The internet is still new, and most of it, is still uncharted territory where laws have not been made yet or not yet developed in a way to set things in stone. As you might know it is very difficult to make that happen when companies operate in a country that is far away from where the actual market is. RIM has been in operation for years now, and it wants to get into the Chinese and Indian markets for a while. China of course is notorious for internet and information control, as is Saudi Arabia and numerous other countries where they still cannot track your every movement by your social security number or drivers license or credit card ;)

Veiled Saudi women talk on their BlackBerry phones at a shopping mall in Riyadh August 5, 2010.The makers of the BlackBerry smartphone held last-ditch talks with Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to avert a threatened cut-off of a key service, while India took a tough line with the Canadian company. Research In Motion is facing mounting demands from governments around the world for access to its vaunted encryption system on national security grounds. REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS)

The story is, and the conclusion of it all is this, RIM told China that it will let it monitor the data somehow someway, India said it wants the same… and of course little markets like Saudi and the UAE said if they will get it, why not us… and there you have it :)

The Truth About the iPhone4 Antenna Problems

iPhone 4 Comments

Ever since the iPhone4 came out and the antenna problems were initially experienced and reported, it seems like there is a never ending stream of reports and videos of the problems existence or lack of existence (at least to those who are following the iPhone4)

I consider myself an Apple appreciator, i.e. I like the products, wish I had more of them, but I have not really bought many of their products. I do not understand the people camping infront of stores before a product is launched, but if they love it that much, so be it.

CUPERTINO, CA - JULY 16: Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer Inc., speaks during a press conference regarding the Apple iPhone 4 reception problems at the Apple headquarters July 16, 2010 in Cupertino, California. Jobs announced that Apple will provide customers with cases at no additional cost to help solve the reception problems and refund customers who have already bought the apple bumpers until September 30, 2010. (Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images)

Apple is a master marketer, no two sound minded individuals would argue that their marketing machine is nothing short of the best out there, and there lies the biggest target available. Only a few countries have officially had the iPhone 4 released, the rest of the world is still waiting for it, and while people camp infront of Apple stores in countries that have Apple stores, some people wait for hours for Nokia C3 in other countries, but none of us have heard of that, and while Apple continues to expand its market share, other companies are experiencing a decline.

A beggar reacts outside the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in New York City on June 24, 2010 as the new Apple iPhone 4 is released. UPI/John Angelillo Photo via Newscom

I wish I knew the number of people who were thinking of buying the iPhone 4 and just went out and bought something else because of this problem. Nokia exlicitly has an illustration in each and every user’s manual that comes with a new phone that advises the user not to hold the phone in a certain way.

The truth is, everyone wants a piece of the action, sites, the news agencies, magazines, blogs ;) etc. As for Apple, well, if you ask them they would tell you that any publicity helps them float their boat, I mean iBoat :D

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© Qusay 2012